Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said in October 2018 General Conference:
“….And what is the cause of Christ? It is to believe in Him, love as He loved, and do as He did.
Jesus “went about doing good.”[v] He walked among the poor, the outcast, the sick and the ashamed. He ministered to the powerless, the weak, the friendless. He spent time with them; He spoke with them. “And he healed them all.”[vi]
Everywhere He went, the Savior taught the “good news” of the gospel. He shared eternal truths that set people free spiritually as well as temporally.
Those who dedicate themselves to Christ’s cause discover the truth of the Savior’s promise: “Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”[viii]
Solomon was wrong, my dear brothers and sisters—life is not “vanity.”[*viii] To the contrary, it can be full of purpose, meaning and peace.
The Healing hands of Jesus Christ reach out to all who seek Him. I have come to know without a doubt that believing and loving God and striving to follow Christ can change our hearts, [ixa, ixb] soften pain, and fill our hearts with “exceedingly great joy.” [x]
Believe, Love, Do
Of course, we must do more than have an intellectual understanding of the gospel for it to have this healing influence in our lives. We must incorporate it into our lives—make it a part of who we are and what we do. May I suggest that discipleship begins with three simple words:
Believe, Love, and Do
Believing God leads to faith in Him and developing trust in His word. Faith causes our hearts to grow in our love for God and others. As that love grows we are inspired to emulate the Savior as we continue our own great journey on the path of discipleship.
“But, you say, “that seems a bit simplistic. Life’s problems, certainly my problems, are far to complex for such a simple prescription. You can’t cure Weltschmerz with three simple words: “Believe, Love, Do.”(Weltschmerz is from Elder Uchtdorf’s native language, a German word: ‘Loosely defined, it means a sadness that comes from brooding about how the world is inferior to how we think it ought to be.’)
It is not the aphorism (Believe, Love, and Do) that cures. It is the love of God that rescues, restores, and revives. God knows you. You are his child. He loves you. Even when you think that you are not lovable, He reaches out to you.
This very day—every day—He reaches out to you, desiring to heal you, to lift you up and to replace the emptiness in your heart with an abiding joy. He desires to sweep away any darkness that clouds your life and fill it with the sacred and brilliant light of His unending glory.
I have experienced this for myself. And it is my witness, as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ that all who come unto God—all who truly believe, love and do—can experience the same.
(This was about half way through… to access Elder Uchtdorf’s complete talk, click: ‘Believe, Love, Do’)
